Incorrect Password
by ZoeKar
Summary: When Tori asks to use Jade's laptop for a school project, she learns more about the dark girl than she ever thought she would. / "Jade... why is my name your password?"


**A/N: Just a small one-shot that I found stored on my hard drive for who knows how long. My best guess would be at least a year. This is inspired by a story I read a long while ago, but I can't, for the life of me, remember the fandom, let alone who wrote it. If you've read it and know which story I'm talking about or who the author is, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!  
UPDATE: It's apparently based on a Life Is Strange story I read ages ago called ****'The Password to Her Heart' by** **Phenatic** **Rabit :)** **  
This could be considered both canon and slight AU, depending on how you perceived Tori and Jade's relationship on the show. In this particular story, Tori has feelings for Jade, but Jade is with Beck and also in denial about her bisexuality (Jade has always** **been bi in my mind)**

Tori groaned frustratedly as she slammed her laptop shut. It was already midnight and not only had she not even begun working on her history class assignment which was due in the morning, she also had to finish the short story for her screen writing class. And her stupid vomputer had chosen this time to go all haywire on her.

She cursed her procrastinating nature as she unlocked her Pear Phone and scrolled down her contact list. She scrolled past André's name as she knew he was visiting his grandma and she would be able to go over. She considered calling Beck, but she knew better than to risk Jade finding out another girl had been calling her boyfriend so late at night, even if said girl was Tori and the only reason she was calling was of the homework kind. The thought of calling Cat left her mind as soon as it made its way into it, and Robbie's name didn't even pop in her head. She knew, after all, that the boy would be fast asleep by then. She reached the end of her contacts list having hastily scrolled past Jade's name as well, flinching at the idea of waking her frenemy up, risking her physical health in the process. If only Trina hadn't decided to go on that school trip and taken her laptop with her, Tori could have just snuck into her sister's room, used her computer and be done with it all.

She slowly scrolled back up a bit, her mind working on overdrive as she approached Jade's contact. She was risking waking the other girl up, though she knew it was highly unlikely as she rarely slept at that hour. Of course, she was also risking being yelled at in the middle of the night, but that was probably the worst the Goth girl could do given the fact they would be talking over the phone and not face to face. Tori could handle a bit of yelling and name-calling from Jade, it was nothing new.

 _'I must be really desperate.'_ Desperation led her on as her thumb was now hovering over Jade's name. She must have hit dial at some point because next thing she knew, a very familiar, very annoyed voice was coming through the speaker. Tori hastily placed her phone against her ear and quietly stuttered an apology.

"What do you want, Vega? It's twelve o'clock in the morning, shouldn't you be enjoying your beauty sleep by now? God knows you need it," came the reply from the other end of the line, and Tori sighed, suddenly not so sure of her plan.

She apologized again, just to make sure Jade knew how sorry she felt for calling at such an hour before continuing. "Listen," she began, trying to find the best way to work her request, "my laptop is fried and I haven't finished my homework yet and-"

"Why should I care?" asked Jade in a bored but also somewhat amused tone. Tori could imagine a small smile tugging the edges of the pale girl's lips. There was nothing she enjoyed more than having people ask her for favors that she would be able to take advantage of in the future.

"And I was _wondering_ ," Tori ignored the fact she had been interrupted, "if I could come over and use your laptop for a while? I really need to finish up my assignments and I've already wasted enough time."

"Oh so now talking to me is a waste of time," Jade stated. "I don't know, Vega. Call me insensitive, but, for some reason, I _really_ don't care if you get an F in whatever class your homework is for."

"Come on, Jade, please? I'll buy you ice cream," Tori knew bribery wouldn't work, but she had to try.

"I hate ice cream," Jade deadpanned and let the line fall silent for a few seconds. Tori was about to talk again as she heard the other girl sigh. "You know where I live, call me so I can come open the door for you when you're here." The half Latina blinked in confusion a couple of times, her mind still processing the fact that Jade had actually accepted to help her out in her time of need. "Say something or I'm hanging up and never helping you out again," came the somewhat muffled voice from the other end of the line, bringing Tori back from her thoughts.

"I… I, thank you, Jade, I'll be right over!" she exclaimed happily as she got up from her desk and put on her shoes, the phone caught between her head and her shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever," Jade replied and hang up, her tone doing nothing to deteriorate Tori's good mood.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the slim girl was standing outside a big, wooden door, her finger pressed against the doorbell. She jumped back in surprise as the door swung open, revealing a very annoyed-looking Jade. Tori looked at the girl in front of her from head to toe. She was wearing a pair of black tights and a loose-fitting burgundy T-shirt that reached the middle of her thighs, and, while she looked as if she had already gone to bed for the night, she also looked like she had put some effort in her appearance. Her hair neatly curled and tied back in a high ponytail and her face clear and bright despite the lack of makeup. Tori resisted the urge to compliment her and blinked a couple of times, focusing back on whatever the teen in front of her was saying.

"I thought I told you to call me when you get here, are you stupid?" Jade hissed and roughly pulled the other girl inside.

"Ow," Tori complained half-heartedly since she wasn't really hurt.

"What took you so long, anyway?" asked the taller girl as she silently closed the heavy door and walked past her guest, making it a point to bump the girl's shoulder with her own in the process.

"Well, I had to walk here. And it's dark and scary and you live so far away from everyone," Tori replied as she begun following her friend upstairs.

"Why call _me_ then? What happened to your boy-toy?" asked the goth over her shoulder, a smirk playing across her lips.

"Ugh, Andre is not my 'boy-toy', we're just friends!" Tori exclaimed, but was immediately shushed by Jade. "And, anyways, he's staying with his grandma and you know how she is. I couldn't just show up over there, she would freak. I could have called Beck, though..."

"Watch it, Vega," Jade muttered through gritted teeth.

"I am. Which is exactly why I called you instead."

The two girls walked into a room and Tori took a moment to look around, her jaw slacking a little at the sight of it. It was undoubtedly Jade's bedroom, and it was unlike any other teenage girl bedroom she had ever seen. The walls were dark and covered with creepy pictures, some of which seemed to have been taken by Jade herself. There were also multiple pairs of scissors scattered all around and Tori had to wonder whether they were strategically placed there only to creep her out or not. Her eyes rested on the butterfly display on one of the walls. She had seen it before over video chat, during some of the rare times the two would video chat, but it gave her an eery feeling seeing it up close. Upon closer inspection, Tori realized those weren't butterflies at all. They were moths, something that only served to make her feel more uneasy.

"This is… nice," she said nodding towards the display.

"Thanks, I caught them myself," Jade replied giving Tori pause.

"You did?" asked the half Latina, not knowing whether to feel impressed of even more creeped out.

"Uh huh," the goth girl had stopped paying attention and was now shuffling through her drawers, picking out some clothes, her eyes never once landing on her frenemy. "Laptop's over there, I'm gonna take a shower," she muttered. "How long is it gonna take?"

"Huh?"

Jade rolled her eyes, "how long are you going to need the laptop for?"

"Oh. Like… two hours? Maybe three," Tori raised her shoulders. She had to do research and write an entire history paper and then write an epilogue to her short story, so she knew she wasn't going to be done any time soon.

"God, Vega, procrastinating much? " Jade commented sarcastically as she walked into the adjoined bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Tori could only roll her eyes as she settled herself in front of the computer and turned it on. She waited for it to boot up and took that opportunity to really look around the strange bedroom. It was her first time seeing Jade's house, let alone her room, and she smiled as she noticed a few things that could be easily missed if you weren't actively looking for them. There were a couple of stuffed animals half-hidden in a corner and, somehow, Tori just knew they were probably gifts from Cat that Jade didn't want to get rid of but was also embarrassed to have lying there, out in the open. The brunette also counted at least seven flannel shirts scattered around the room, one hanging from one of the closet handles, another draped carelessly on the back of a chair, and a few others tossed on the bed. _'Who knew Jade West was not a neat freak?'_ Tori thought amusedly.

The sound of the laptop finally being turned on drew the girl's attention back to the screen and she resisted the overwhelming urge to slap herself as the indication for a password appeared. Of course, Jade's laptop would need a password. Tori hastily typed in "Beck" and hit enter, knowing in her mind that it would never be that easy. A red exclamation mark flashed on the screen, letting her know she was wrong. Sighing, she inserted the word "Bade", having heard Cat and the others using it occasionally when referring to Beck and Jade together. Much to her disappointment, the red exclamation point persisted. After that, the slim girl typed in every word she knew that could either describe Jade or was something the other girl loved. From "scissors", "scissoring", "blood" and "coffee" to "grunch" and "bitch" and even some more R-rated words. Nothing worked and Tori was at her wit's end.

She was about to call it quits and just walk into the bathroom and force Jade to tell her the password when she noticed the little question mark on the side of the bracket, indicating the existence of a hint. Tori thanked whoever was up there as she clicked the small icon, but her smile immediately fell from her lips upon seeing what the hint was. "V". _'V? Are you kidding me?!'_ The teen chuckled slightly as she typed in the word "vagina", thinking how funny it would be if that was actually the password. She was slightly disappointed when she realized it wasn't.

A few minutes passed and Tori was still racking her brain for Jade-related words that began with the letter V, but she knew she had hit a dead end. She felt defeated and almost as if her history homework wasn't worth all the trouble and headache it was giving her when she grabbed a stray pen that was on the desk and started doodling the letter V on a piece of paper. Soon enough, she had drawn her last name, complete with stars all around it and a small spotlight on it, as if to illuminate it. She was looking over the picture with a small smile when it hit her. _'Vega'_ ; her last name began with a V. She rolled her eyes at how stupid the idea sounded even in her head, but she decided to try anyway. She slowly, almost cautiously, hit the keys on the keyboard and then quickly hit enter, almost scared of what would happen. Nothing. She sighed in relief, but was also unable to explain the strange feeling of disappointment in the pit of her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she decided to give it one more shot before giving up for good. This time, she inserted her first name and she closed her eyes as her finger pressed the Enter button.

A couple of seconds passed and nothing seemed to be happening so Tori cracked one eye open to peer at the screen. It was loading. _Loading_. Her breath got hitched in her throat as she opened both eyes and watched the little loading circle go round and round until the screen went black, the all too familiar sound was heard and the word 'Welcome' appeared.

"Crap," she muttered, running her hands through her long hair. She did not expect this to happen and she was suddenly feeling flustered, her heart skipping a few beats.

She had no idea how long she stayed there unmoving, staring at the home screen of Jade's laptop, but the next thing she knew, the door to the bathroom opened and Jade walked back in the room, now wearing a pair of dark sweatpants and a form fitting dark green shirt. Her hair was still pulled back in a tight ponytail.

"How's it going?" she asked as she made her way to the dresser and picked out a black pair of socks. Tori opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out; only a soft noise that sounded a lot like a whine. "What's wrong with you? I know you take homework seriously, but you can't let it turn you into a vegetable, Vega," Jade commented, turning to face the brunette who now seemed paler than usual. The taller girl opened her mouth to talk again when her eyes fell on her unlocked laptop. At that moment, Jade could swear that her face had turned redder than Cat's hair as she stumbled to find the right words to explain what could not be explained. At least not without making a huge fool of herself.

"Jade…" came Tori's hoarse, uncertain voice. "Jade why is my name your password?" she asked quietly and Jade felt as if her heart would either jump out of her chest or stop beating altogether.

"I… I tend to find passwords extremely annoying, so I needed something equally annoying to help me remember it. Don't get too cocky, Vega, you're not that special," her cracking mask suddenly went back to its place, the sarcasm once again evident in her voice.

"Suuure…" Tori couldn't help but comment teasingly, something that caused Jade to huff and roll her eyes.

"How much longer are you going to be here?" came the girl's next question, worded in such a way that it made the half Latina hurt a little inside.

"I… well, I haven't exactly started yet, so… It might take a while," she replied honestly. "I can go if you don't want me here," she added as an afterthought but Jade shook her head.

"No, it's okay. Just be quiet, okay? My dad's asleep next door and he doesn't like it when I have people over. We were lucky the doorbell didn't wake him up earlier." Tori nodded and turned her attention back to the laptop, the whole password incident temporarily forgotten, pushed to the back of her head.

* * *

Tori had no idea how much time had passed since she first sat there, but it definitely felt like an eternity later when she finally turned the laptop off and rubbed her burning eyes with the heels of her hands. She had emailed herself the two documents, figuring it would be better to print them out on one of the printers at school rather than using the machine right next to her, risking it making too much noise at such a late hour.

She quietly pushed the chair back and stretched her arms above her head, feeling her spine pop, and she was about to get up when she heard a tiny whimper coming from the bed. She turned her head only to see Jade lying on her side, her front facing away from her. She was messing around with her phone just an hour ago, but now she was still, probably long asleep by then. It was almost four o'clock in the morning, after all. The teen tried to be as quiet as possible as she put her shoes back on -they had been discarded some point during all those hellish hours in an attempt to make herself more comfortable- and grabbed her coat and bag from the chair next to her. Her hand was almost touching the doorknob when she heard shuffling behind her.

"Where are you going?" came Jade's sleepy voice, raspier than usual.

"Oh, did I wake you? I'm sorry," Tori apologized sincerely. "I'm all done with my homework," she added.

"That doesn't really answer my question," the lying girl stated, not turning around to face her classmate.

"Home, I'm going home," was the brunette's simple reply.

Jade chuckled softly, "hah. Use 'em and toss 'em, huh, Vega?"

After a couple of seconds, Tori's confused frown turned into an expression of realization. "Would you maybe like me to stay?" she asked, a somewhat teasing tone adorning her voice. On the inside, however, she was hoping for a positive reply.

"Whatever," the goth mumbled. "You want to leave, leave, I don't care." She did care.

Tori let a soft laugh escape her mouth and she placed her things on the floor, taking off her shoes once again. She could feel her heart beating wildly as she lifted the covers and scooted herself over, close to Jade who had yet to turn around or even open her eyes. Despite her efforts to appear nonchalant, the young brunette could tell the pale girl was nervous, seeing how tightly clenched her jaw seemed to be.

"You know," Tori said after taking a deep breath to calm encourage herself, "this bed is much smaller once you're in it," and with that, she moved even closer to Jade, her front now touching the girl's back. She smiled as she felt the body in front of her tense up immediately, and she could actually hear a breath getting caught in the back of the goth's throat. Her body was so warm, however, almost feverish, and Tori found it easy to relax and close her eyes, letting Jade's scent engulf her. "You smell nice," she whispered a few moments later, pressing her nose closer to the dark hair pooled on the pillow, inhaling the sweet aroma that, for whatever reason, reminded her of Christmas. It wasn't until a little later that she realized Jade smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and not death and despair like she had assumed she would.

"Shut your mouth and go to sleep, Vega," came the girl's raspy voice again. Tori really did like that voice. Her smile grew even wider when she felt Jade sigh quietly and relaxing her body against hers, finally letting go of her nervousness.

It was that same smile she woke up with the next morning, with her arms wrapped around the girl who had spent almost every day since that very first coffee incident trying to make her life as miserable as possible. _'I could get used to that...'_

 **A/N: So there you go! I hope I did the characters justice since this is brand new territory for me. I'd love to see what you guys think of it :)**


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